Rishi Garg

CFO at Underdog Sports, Dad, Entrepreneur, Coach, former Exec at Twitter, Square, MTV, jazz lover.

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

I'm extremely bullish about @zcabrams and the https://t.co/gT7M5vhOkV team - they're building, capably, services to enable maybe the single best utility cryptocurrencies can provide today for everyday people: international transfer. Shout out to all my ex-Squares!

[Zach Abrams @zcabrams]

We've been building Bridge for 2.5 years. Very excited to finally share more about what we do and why we're doing it.

Sean and I also spent time with @leomschwartz to tell our story.

Our blog is below.

And article is here --> https://t.co/lVhG6NFhVa

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

Had such a great time talking Corp dev and M&A with my friend @sashaorloff on the @TurpentineMedia Finance podcast - check it out!

[Turpentine @TurpentineMedia]

In this episode of Turpentine Finance with @sashaorloff, @rishigarg, former Head of Corporate Development at Twitter and Square, shares insider knowledge on tech acquisitions.

He explains when companies should start considering M&A and the three key approaches: tops down, bottoms up, and strategy influence. Rishi reveals how he managed up to 15 deals in 12 months and why integration is crucial for M&A success.

He debunks common M&A misconceptions and discusses the "sins of omission" - deals he regrets not making. The conversation shifts to his current role as a VC at Mayfield Fund, offering a unique perspective on both sides of acquisitions.

--

TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Introduction
(02:53) How companies should think about M&A and corp dev
(06:58) Signs that a company is ready to consider M&A
(11:37) Different approaches to M&A: tops down, bottoms up, and strategy influencing
(16:52) How to start building an M&A team
(18:16) Sponsors: Netsuite | Metaview
(22:15) Misconceptions about M&A in Silicon Valley
(26:53) Valuation considerations in M&A deals
(34:31) Current state of M&A market and opportunities
(38:24) Sponsors: Omneky | Brave
(39:47) How M&A deals happen and relationship building
(45:55) Reasons why M&A deals don't work out
(51:50) Transition to Rishi's experience as a venture capitalist
(57:50) Advice for founders considering M&A
(1:02:09) Rishi's current interests in investing, particularly in AI and new platforms

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

Love to see how Highbeam continues to make an impact for indie sellers of all kinds with innovative, targeted financial products! Great work @sshergill and @highbeamapp team!

[Samir Shergill @sshergill]

Today at Highbeam we’re excited to announce new financial products and automation to put cashflow on autopilot for multi-million dollar ecommerce brands.

Highlights in 🧵

https://t.co/X9ZqEShMAS

[Samir Shergill @sshergill]

Today at Highbeam we’re excited to announce new financial products and automation to put cashflow on autopilot for multi-million dollar ecommerce brands.

Highlights in 🧵

https://t.co/X9ZqEShMAS

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@NWischoff Check out https://t.co/tvnBaDuQrc - they're a multi-aggregator API for both traditional financial and crypto rails, doing well

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@m3pols @altcap @gokulr @tomloverro Agreed - very hard for a B/C stage founder to accept that the EV in a potential exit may (in most cases) not clear the preference stack so they wait. The only solution for the startups: try and build something useful with as few people (and resources) as possible!

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@hiiamArielle @dunn @zamosta 100% @zamosta

[Erik Schluntz @ErikSchluntz]

Ok I've been coding for 3 days now with #ChatGPT open next to VSCode, and I haven't opened StackOverflow once...

I'm starting to believe

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@pitdesi @ericbahn It matters that the excitement around AI is driven by tinkerers and technologists, many of whom are alums of Google, etc. and longtime silicon valley people, and they're all meeting up in SF! This quote from David Holz's interview with @benthompson is a good example

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@elonmusk @sama Great execution for @openai — 11/30/22 will go down as a history making moment in AI

[clem 🤗 @ClementDelangue]

Two months ago, people were saying that closed-source/proprietary models were dead because of stable diffusion. Today, people are saying that open-source models are dead because of chatgpt.

Reality is that there will always be both, filling different needs just like in software!

[Amjad Masad @amasad]

Put these things together, one developer will have the power of an entire network of AIs, people, and services at their fingertips. I believe a 100x productivity boost is the lower bound here.

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

This is simple and prosaic but it's really nice to have the recipe problem solved

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@lexfridman Podcast #339 with @Revkin and @BjornLomborg is a super direct, collaborative, thought provoking discussion on climate change and is worth everyone taking several days to listen to

[Andrew Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️ @Revkin]

It was an honor to discuss climate challenges & choices for 4 hours with @lexfridman - and a total surprise when he ended our chat with Bjorn Lomborg by reciting the lyrics from my song "A Very Fine Line"! Here's Lex & the tune. (Full interview: https://t.co/azFfm8gmIb)

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@pitdesi @ashwathrajan These resemble the photo I actually have of you next to Ganesha

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@m3pols Now you're getting it

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@Suhail @JamesBenamor @paulg This is so right on - our industry works best when we're (investors, founders, ecosystem) excitedly (and collaboratively) trying to figure out how to harness a new platform for useful products.

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@Suhail @JamesBenamor @paulg I think much of Web3 was the collective tech industry's (mostly cynical) attempt to buy into something interesting ("a new platform!") while waiting anxiously for a new platform that could create a cambrian explosion of startups who actually "make something people want."

[Rishi Garg @rishigarg]

@johnvmcdonnell This is so right on - and so underappreciated in the wowness we're experiencing right now -- sourcing will be crucial as people (with computers) begin attempting to influence informational results of LLMs and there needs to be a trust layer to sort through the noise.